


castle town has the best ice creams

by imnotacyborg



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Midna works in a library and is Link's babysitter, Mutual Pining, Zelda is a writer/journalist, no i did not forgot this au, young!Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8822179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotacyborg/pseuds/imnotacyborg
Summary: Midna was totally not blushing, no matter what anyone said, she wasn't blushing just because Zelda called her cute with sprinkles spread around her mouth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hellllooooooooooooo, here i am with an au that only makes a little bit of sense and be aware that i don't know what i'm doing, but in some days i'll be on vacation anyway, and i wanna write something in this time

"No matter how many times you ask" Midna said while zipping the tiny coat "Your aunt won't get you a  _big wolf_ or anything like that".

"Not with  _that_ attitude" Link replied while playing with the pompoms on his beanie "I'll call them Peanut".

Midna paused, looking at Link with her best blank face.

"You're gonna call your hypothetical wolf.... _Peanut_ ".

"Yep" he didn't let go of the pompoms.

Midna took a deep breath and adjusted the beanie on the messy head of blond hair, trying to think in a reply that wouldn't have the words  _"crazy", "no way in hell"_ , and  _"how long did it took you to think of the name Peanut for a wolf you know you can't have?"_

"Alright" she tied her bright orange hair in a low ponytail "Just make sure your wolf won't bark in the middle of the night. You don't wanna be late for school". Link's tiny face frowned.

"School?"

 

 

 

Zelda sighed, looking at her laptop as if it had all the answers for her current problems. Well, it  _had_ , she just had to organize them.

_"According to legends, one of the Old Castle Town traditional games was the Bombchu Target game, believed to be only truly beaten by the HeAKJEBGGBAIUBEGJUBAHBEG"_

Zelda took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You should be grateful" She said to the greyish cat looking at her with a blank face "that the undo option exists. Get your butt off my laptop".

Louise meowed, a clear  _"you can give me food and I'll do everything you want, or nothing done"_ and licked her paw. Zelda sighed,  _again_ , got up from the chair for the first time in hours, feeling her legs wooble for a second.

"Why do I even feed you" she grumbled while putting  _"_ _Gengle's Magic Cat Food"_ in a pink bowl she  _totally_ did not buy for Louise.

She rubbed her neck while watching the big fluffy cat eat, then turned her eyes to the kitchen window. The sky was grey, probably would snow in the middle of the night, but the weather seemed good enough for a walk in the park, or a reading of her favourite book.

Louise meowed with a clearly satisfied face. Her bowl was totally empty.

Zelda hmmed and went to her laptop again, cleared all the mess Louise did to her work, and looked at her coat uncarefully thrown on her couch.

"Yep" She petted Louise's head "I'll take a walk".

 

 

 

"Lets repass the rules, just to be sure. What you have to do?"

"Stay near the other kids"

"And?"

"Not grab the biggest sticks and wave them like a sword"

_"And?"_

_"_  If a strange person try to touch me, I kick them and scream and come running to you".

"That's my boy" Midna made the blond hair even messier with her rubs "Now go, have fun. I'll stay here".

Link nodded and excitedly ran off. Midna sighed and stretched her arms above her head, took her phone out of her pocket, and spread herself in the bank near the playground. She was ready to another round of  _Bombchu Run_.

 

 

 Link frowned. He couldn't decide which leaf was the prettiest. One was orange with smalls blots of red on the tips. The other was half brown and half yellow. Midna said he could only take one, but which one?! He couldn't choose between two pretty leaves!

Maybe....Midna would let him take two? She let him take two on his last birthday, so maybe...

He took a look around, trying to find Midna but.... Oh, he got too far from her. Again. He promised her he wouldn't do that anymore. He knew it scared her.

Oh-oh.

Wait. There was a lady sat on the bank near the big tree. Maybe she could help him?

He put both of the pretty leaves on his pocket, he could talk about that with Midna later, and quickly walked to the bank.

 

 

Zelda turned the page of the book, letting her eyes admire the beautiful creatures found in the deep of Pinnacle Rock, near Termina, and the exotic plants growing near the Great Bay.

She heard steps, light and hurried, near her, but her mind ignored it, taking it as just another person taking their morning exercise, and she turned back to the creatures of Ikana Canyon.

"Wow" She heard a small, childish voice gasp. Near her.

She looked up and there was a small boy, no older than 5, looking at her with big blue eyes. His hair was a mess of dark blond strands,two of them hanging in the front of his Hylian ears, and he was looking at her with a expression of awe and curiosity.

Zelda looked at her book quickly and back to the boy again.

"Ahm...can I help you?"

His smile, if that was possible, got even bigger.

"The book you're reading is  _so big!_ And  _so colorful_! Midna showed me some when she took me to the library"

 _O...kay_. Maybe the boy was just curious about the size of the book. Zelda couldn't help, but find it amusing.

"Oh, really? You like to read them?"

The boy shook his head.

"I can't read much, but I really liked the wolves of the Twilight Realm! Some of them had  _blue marks_ on their bodies! And the marks  _glow_!"

Zelda laughed, that small boy was really amusing.

"I read that sometimes they carried creatures of the forest on their backs too" She said while bookmarking the page and closing her book.

That was the key for the boy to let all out. His knowledge about forest creatures, wolves, goats, and even hawks amazed Zelda. It didn't seem their talk would end so soon.

 

 

Midna groaned, watching her character get surrounded by bombchus _again_. Oh well, maybe she would try again later.

Wait...where was Link? She was pretty sure he was there a minute ago.

Oh...she told him he could take a leaf home today. He probably got far from her while searching for leaves on the ground.

Midna quickly got up, looking around frenetically for a blond head. She walked around the biggest trees near the playground, asked one of the mothers there if she saw a small boy running around there, called his name three times. Nothing.

Oh _dammit_. He got really far. 

She went to the part closer to the park's gates, were most of the banks and people exercising were, and called his name again.

Wait.

Was that....Yeah, it was him!

Midna run to the bank near the big Deku tree, letting out a big sigh of relief when she recognized the dark green coat and the red shoes.

" _Link!"_

 

 

 Zelda jolted and looked up. A really tall woman, with fiery orange hair tied in a low ponytail, slightly blue skin and pointed black ears with blue marks, probably a Twili, was running in their direction.

 _She's beautiful_.

Zelda's eyes bulged, and she felt her cheeks blush. Oh goddesses.

 

 


	2. everybody people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda has a crush, Midna has a crush, Link has two leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really monotone and short, sorry （ ; ; ）

_Ok, wow_. Midna thought, looking at the Hylian lady sitting next to Link on the bank. She had shiny, clear blue eyes, long brown hair, and  _wow_ she had nice long legs too.

_Don't blush, don't blush, think about anything! That time Link tried to hug a bird and the bird didn't let go of his hair, that time Ms. Telma threw a trashbag at the neighbour, that time..._ Ok, it wasn't working, and Midna was pretty damn sure her cheeks were warm, and she had a crush on someone she didn't even knew the name but had very nice legs. Midna gulped.

_Keep walking! Be smooth!_

She took a deep breath, not so discreetely threw her hair over her shoulder, and went back to walking with slow, elegant steps, shaking her hips slightly with each step. _Smooth_.

She approched the bank and gently put a hand on Link's head, giving a small, but beautiful, smile to the brown-haired lady.

"Hello" She smiled again "I see you found Link. I'm his nanny, my name's Midna". Another smile.

The lady stared at her for a few seconds, silently. Midna gulped internally. _Oh shit, did I do something wrong?_

 

 

Zelda was screaming inside. Loud, unstoppable screams. The lady, Midna, was so _beautiful_. So tall, so full of colors. Zelda felt a silly smile forming on her lips.

"O-Oh, hello there!" Zelda tried smiling again, more openly. "My name's Zelda. Erm. Oh yeah, Link approached me, to talk about my book. He's a really smart child!"

Zelda thanked Link internally when he turned to Midna with a big grin on his face. 

"Yeah, her book is really cool! There's one like this in your library, right Midna?"

Zelda was pretty sure her eyes were the size of plates.

'You work at the library?!"

Midna gave her a small smile, her red eyes glinting with something Zelda couldn't tell what it was.

"Oh, I do! The King Daphnes Library of Hyrule, to be more exact". Zelda gasped.

"That library is  _so big_! It's honestly one of my favourites around here!"

Midna chuckled, a low, melodic chuckle that immediately pulled Zelda's heartstrings.

"Maybe we will see each other there someday? I'm there from monday to friday'

Zelda couldn't stop looking at the long finger twisting a strand of orange hair. She coughed discreetely.

"Midna knows the best books there, Zelly!" Zelda's eyebrows raised with the unexpected, but appreciated, nickname. "She knows all the ones with forests and birds and..."

Midna huffed, lightly pulling one of Link's sideburns, "I only know all of them because you  _always_ ask for them, wolf boy". Link giggled.

Zelda smiled, looking at them. It wasn't rare for her to have this kind of conversation with someone. She always had her friends at work, like Impa and Malon and Shad, sometimes even her neighbours Ganon and Ashei, or even some people at the usual restaurant she ate dinner on weekends. But she always welcomed this kind of light conversations, about everything and nothing at all. She had also read somewhere that conversations with strangers were the best ones, sometimes even giving you new friends and perspectives on your daily life.

"Well," Midna said, helping Link get down from the bank, "It was a pleasure to meet you,  _Zelda_. I hope to see you on the library one of these days".

Zelda smiled, putting her book on her bag and closing her coat. 

"Well, I'll be sure to drop there this week once I finish my last article".

Midna raised her eyebrows, smirking slightly. "Article? About what?"

"About Old Castle Town. Some old jornals were found last week near the ruins, and I'm putting some bits together for Castle Town Times".

Midna opened a big smile, looking at Zelda with big, shiny eyes.

"That seems really interesting! When will it be published?"

Zelda pouted for a second, trying to remember. She sighed and took her phone out, looking at her agenda.

"Let's see...Oh, in the last weekend of the month! Near the opening of the new museum".

"I'll be looking forward to it! Let's talk about that when you go to the library, I'm pretty sure there are some books about the older heroes lying around somewhere".

Link gave a small screech of pleasure, pulling Zelda's coat to get her attention.

"They have one about the Hero of Twilight! He turned into a  _wolf_! It was so cool!"

Zelda giggled, ruffing the boy'ss blond hair. "I'm sure he was, I even heard he won the STAR game". Link's eyes bulged, as if Zelda had told him the secret of the Triforce.

'Well," Midna sighed, holding Link's hand. "We have to get going, it's almost time to Link's dinner. Let's go, wolf boy. Oh, by the way! You can find me on eSheikah, I'm TwiliQueen there".

Zelda laughed and nodded, taking her phone out.

"I'll be sure to add you! Bye, Link! Tell me more about hawks next time".

Link nodded excitedly, and with a wave and screamed "bye bye!"s, they parted ways.

 

 

Midna swayed on her place slightly, looking at the colorful subway ads.

"I know I can usually take only one leaf, but Midna  _listen_ , they were really pretty!"

Midna shrugged, pulling Link back from the subway's yellow line. "I won't even try to deny they are pretty, but your aunt won't like so many leaves scattered around".

"Ah" Link frowned slightly "I'll find a notebook and glue them there. My own book of pretty leaves!". Midna smiled.

They stayed silent for some minutes, Link rubbing his eyes from time to time and Midna passing her fingers on her hair.

"Hey" Midna mumbled. Link looked at her with raised eyebrows. "How did you meet that lady? Zelda?"

"Ah" Link poked the pompoms of his beanie "I got lost while finding leaves, then I saw her there. And her book was really cool and we began talking about wolves and she was really nice, so I stayed there".

Midna hmmed and looked at the colorful ads again. Maybe she would try the new Holodrumian restaurant.

" _Attention, the subway to Faron Gardens is arriving. Please, be careful with the space between the plataforms"_ said the monotone voice from the speakers. Midna picked Link up and entered the wagon. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, the title is from the song "People" from Gorillaz ( ᐛ )و


	3. we stand up and yell "ice cream truck!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Organize the books, tell Ms. telma you're the one who broke her window, remember the lady at the park, throw away the old cookies, remember the lady at the park, eat more apples...

Midna frowned at the plastic box near her table. Clearly, Ruto had been procrastinating  _again_ , her  _only_ job was to put the books back in their respective shelves and stamp the library cards. That's it. And yet she still managed to procrastinate.

Not that Midna was a " _straight to the job"_ kind of person. Gods, she wasn't even  _straight._

Ok, she would organize the books herself; Not like there was much to do around.

_Mamamu Yan's Tips for Raising the Best Dogs_ , shelf 3, corridor 7. Easy.  _The Unknown Secrets of Termina, (well, we have a conspiration theories lover here. huh?),_ shelf 1, corridor 4.  _How to be the Best Bestest Student Ever by  Nico of the Sea_ , whoa take it slow kid; shelf 2, corridor 14. Easy peasy. She could do this game all day.

"Hey, Shad" Midna frowned at her coworker, "don't drink this much coffee. You're already the best bestest student in your class". Shad blushed.

Midna digged around the box, going for the books of the nearest corridors, and stopped when she saw an old green cover made of leather, with the title  _The Book of the Heroes: Tales of the People of Castle Town_ written in faded golden letters. She wasn't particularly interested in history, her grades were never the best in that subject, but there was a thing in the back of her mind. Long brown hair, long  _nice_ legs, beautiful smile. The lady at the park, _Zelda_ (or Zelly), was writting a thing about heroes, wasn't she? And she said she might come to the library...Maybe... Midna could save the book for her? Well, there was no problem in helping a possible friend, was there?

Nope. 

Midna looked at Shad, with his face buried in a book as thick as the table, and looked back at the old book. She quietly put the book on her table, took out her own library card from her pocket, and quickly wrote the details for the lending. Wow, she was such a  _great_ friend. She quickly put the book inside her bag and went back to the plastic box.

 

 

Zelda frowned at her laptop. One of the books said the hero of Holodrum disappeared after his quest was finished, but the other said he was seen around Labrynna. What was the truth there?!

Louise meowed.

"No, I'm not stressed"

Meow.

"There's no problem in drinking 6 cups of coffee. you're wrong"

Meow.

"No, you already ate".

Zelda sighed exasperated, and close the book her coworker had lend to her. Each day, she tried to dig more around the history of the heroes, but so many facts didn't match. It was almost as if the heroes were a ghost appearence, nobody having sure of what they did, how they did, where they went, or any personal facts; Half of it was theory. Why did she chose this subject, again?

Well...she could finish it later. She had been writing for 6 hours, her brain was almost screaming for help, her fingers were almost sueing her, and she sure as hell had no more patience for it. Yep, she deserved a break.  

She went to her kitchen, looking for her well deserved  _Tingle Cookies_ , say whatever you want, they were great, and went back to her couch, munching the chocolate deliciousness. Well deserved.

Zelda looked at her laptop's screen. Her wallpaper was a picture of her small garden on the window, colorful and  _alive_ , with the buildings in the back. Basically, her life in a picture.

Well, she could take a look at her eSheikah account. The last time she checked it, she had dyed her hair blonde. And it was  _weeks_ ago.

Zelda squinted at her profile picture. There was something she was supposed to do...Oh, yes! The pretty lady at the park! She had her username, she could add her! 

Zelda quickly typed  _twilightprincess_ on the search bar. The first results were of pages about mythology, jewelry, pet shops....There! Midna, resident of  _Faron Gardens_. Zelda gasped silently. They lived so  _close_ , and yet she never saw Midna on the streets. She quckly tapped the  _Send Friendship Invitation_ button, her stomach full of butterflies.

Oh Goddesses, she was already imagining their conversations. 

 

 

Midna squinted at Ruto, who was happily chewing her vegetarian sandwich, and looked back at her spoon.

"From what kind of deep hole you took the idea of freezing the spoons to use on your skin?"

Ruto shrugged.

"My friend, Sheik, said their skin got smoother just by using cold spoons for, like, a week. I'm willing to give a try. Zora skin can get kinda... _slimy_ sometimes"

Midna stared at her.

"Ok, but a _spoon?_  "

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the most nonsense and fun chapter i've ever written.  
> not even the title makes sense  
> and i'm not even tired.  
> peace  
> (also, Sheik here is agender. i might make mistakes, so if someone wanna correct me, please feel free to do so!)


	4. when she shines for me at night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sleepless nights are the best of all.

Zelda sighed, turning her pillow to the cold side  _again_. She was trying to find a excuse for her lack of sleep, but really there was none. The lights were all out, the city's noises muffled by her windows, the TV was off, the oven wasn't on... 

Grumbling to herself, she stretched her arms above her head and took a look around her room. There was her old poster of the  _Indigo-Go's_ , her plushie of an owl she got at a prizing game on last year's festival, her clothes were thrown carelessly on a chair, and there were the small succulents on her window sill. They were already watered, her clothes on the chair would only be touched again next month or so. What could she do? Maybe read a little? Or have an existencial crisis in the middle of the night, that was always good too.

Or maybe...

She could go out a little? People did say cities, specially really big ones such like Castle Town, were different at night.

She quickly grabbed her phone and typed  _"Milk Bar Castle Town"_ , smiling when the search results confirmed the bar was open and alive at this time of the night.

She jumped out of bed, put on her favourite shirt, jacket, and jeans, matching everything with her sneakers. Did she had enough ruppees in her wallet? She did! Well, enough for a  _Chateau Romani_ at least. 

Taking a last look at her apartment, she left.

 

 

Midna hmmed, looking at her phone. A friendship invitation had arrived hours ago, but she could only see it now. In the Milk Bar. Where there was a real working Wi-Fi, instead of the one at the library.

 _themightyqueen_ , or Zelda Nohansen, was smiling on her profile picture, hair blond instead of the light brown Midna saw at the park. She couldn't deny it looked really good on her. She quickly tapped the  _Accept Invitation_ button, smiling to herself when the app happily said  _You and Zelda are now friends!_

She took one more sip of her Mint Milk, shaking her head slightly to the song being played by the Band of the Night. A cover band of the  _Indigo-Go's_ , one of her favourite bands, and the song playing was  _Let Me Sink in You,_ one she often found herself singing in the shower.

Midna wasn't one for hanging out at the middle of the night, really she wasn't she was more of the "sleep- the-rest-of-the-day" person, but tonight the city was just so  _alive_ , jazz playing in small pubs, people laughing and running at the parks, the lights seemed more bright more  _magical_ , and she just couldn't resist a walk around, ending her little walk at the Milk Bar, listening to one of her favourite songs, drinking her favourite drink. She wish she had someone to laugh with, to sing with, but she was also fine being alone. People say it's good to enjoy yourself, right?

She sand to herself lightly while walking to the bar to refill her drink.  _I saw your eyes of blue, you smiling at the moon, so pleeeease let me sink in you, let me tell the moon your smile belongs to the world below...._

Her eyes bulged slightly when she saw the familiar head of brown long hair and the deep blue eyes shining with the bar's lights.  _Zelda_ was there, and she was beautiful. 

Midna already knew that, but still.

 _She was there._  

Midna took a deep breath, adjusted her shirt, and walker slowly to her, playing the entire scene on her head over and over again.

She tapped Zelda's shoulder lightly, smiling.

Zelda turned around and really,  _Midna wasn't ready_. Zelda's hair was slightly wavy, in such a charming way that Midna wished she could entrail her fingers on the strands and see they coil slightly around them. Zelda's eyes, the deep blue Midna had, for some reason, kept in her mind, were shining with the yellow lights, giving her a weird golden-like glow Midna couldn't help, but find her almost goddess-like. 

Midna almost didn't noticed she wasn't saying anything while Zelda stared at her with slight smile.

"Are you still there?"

Midna almost swallowed her tongue. She cleared her throat and smiled.

"Enjoying the song, too?" Midna gave her cup to the bartender, asking for more Mint Milk, "This cover band is really good".

Zelda smiled and closed her eyes for a second, as if trying to dive in the song. 

"Yes, they are. Never heard them before. But I can't deny I like the original version better"

"Dude, same. Oh, wanna go sit with me there? In the corner? The Wi-Fi works pretty well there, too"

Zelda giggled ( _giggled!_ Midna would remember this forever, can she put a giggle on her wall?) and nodded, taking her drink (Special Strawberry Mix, Midna would keep this is mind) and went to the corner table with her.

 

 

 Two hours later, Zelda and Midna were still laughing at the joke Zelda found on her timeline on her eSheikah account. But really, at this point they were probably drunk from lack of sleep, because Zelda almost didn't touched her drink and Midna forgot to get hers back from the bar. She still hadn't noticed.

"Hey" Midna almost yelled, probably because of the song volume and the laughs rolling around, "Want to walk around? I know there's a place nearby that sells like, the most awesome fries I've ever eaten".

Zelda nodded, enthusiastic. 

"I'm all in for fries! Let's go" 

Midna and Zelda quickly left the bar. Outside, Zelda quickly noticed the change of temperature. While inside the bar she was warm, almost sweating, outside there was a cold breeze ruffling her hair, making her shiver but also feel refreshed. 

But Midna also noticed the change, and only them Zelda noticed all she was wearing was a light, long-sleeved black shirt. And she was shivering, but pretending to not to. But Zelda was no fool. 

"Are you cold?" Zelda asked, pulling the sleeves of her jacket off, "Here, take my jacket".

Midna blinked, staring at her for a few seconds.

"What? Oh no, it's ok, really! I'm fine, keep your jacket, or  _you_ will stay cold".

Zelda clicked her tongue, holding the jacket out for Midna to take. 

"Nah, I was ready for a cold weather, My shirt is warm. You, on the other side, seems to have forgotten we are in the middle of  _winter_ ". Zelda smiled, raising one of her eyebrows.

Midna pouted, looking to the side. But Zelda could see the mischievous glint on her red eyes. 

"Ok, yeah, I did. But still, keep it, you will get sick"

" _I_ will get sick? Are you sure?"

"...No, I'm not".

Midna put her jacket on, and Zelda couldn't help but notice it looked smaller on Midna (but again, Midna was bigger than Zelda. She could barely reach Midna's chin), but it still looked cute.  _Oh goddesses_.

"Thank you" Midna smiled, and Zelda would keep the small blush on Midna's cheeks in her memory forever, "Let's go, then? Fries!"

"Fries!"

 Midna took her to a street nearby, near the candles store. The place was small, just a stand with a bag of fries on the sign, and the salty smell of fries being made. Zelda's mouth was already watering. 

Zelda chose a medium bag of fries (with cheese, she was having fun this night), and they walked to the park in the end of the street. 

"I tried to climb those trees once," Midna mumbled and swallowed her fries (classical ones) "I fell and broke my arm. Skipped school for a week and ate ice cream before lunch. Best week of my life".

Zelda laughed and cleaned the cheese from the corner of her lips.

"Once, I went to the park near my house with my dad. He sat on the bank while I walked around. I grabbed a really long stick and put on my plastic princess tiara. Mr. Ganon, now my neighbour, was just sitting nearby, reading a book. My dad said I went to him and began calling him "evil" and "king of darkness" then I hit his knee with the stick. Really hard."

Midna was clearly trying to hold her laughter, the fries were almost coming out through her nose. Zelda rolled her eyes and grabbed more of her cheesy fries.

"Laugh all you want, I was a mighty princess"

Midna took a deep breath, but the smile never left her lips.

"Oh, sure, your highness" She bowed at the waist, "I'm sure you'd conquer the whole Gerudo Mesa with your mighty stick".

Zelda chuckled and punched her arm, making Midna trip and show her tongue.

 

After they were done with their fries, they sat in a bank nearby, looking at the few stars they could see in a comfortable silence.

"You know," Midna mumbled "I only noticed now I forgot to get my drink back".

Zelda laughed.

 

"I had no idea you lived  _so close_ , dude Link will love this" Midna said, looking at the  _Lanayru Lakes_ sign in the corner of the street.

"How's he going, by the way? I miss his wolf tales"

Midna snorted, kicking a peeble near her foot. 

"Yesterday he knocked at my door at six in the morning just to ask for cereal, then passed out on my couch with the spoon on his cheek"

Zelda laughed, cleaning the few tears in the corner of her eyes.

"You two are welcomed here any time. I can show you my cat that is not my cat but I feed her anyway. I think she believes I'm her slave"

Midna's only answer was raising her eyebrow.

"It's an anarchy"

"I won't even try to understand, you'll have to show me the cat" 

"Sure," Zelda slowly climbed the stairs,  _slowly_ "Don't forget you are welcomed here any time"

Midna smiled softly. Zelda felt weirdly warm by such a simple smile. 

"I will remember this"

 

Midna only noticed the next morning she also forgot to give Zelda's jacket back. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from the song "She Shines" from the Transistor game! (i love that song omg)  
> i hope this chapter is a bit longer than the last one...  
> Also, thank you for all the comments and kudos! i never expected such a positive feedback on this fic, since i was kinda afraid of writing it  
> (/v\\)


	5. i know i'm not alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cookies are always better when you know you can make more.

Midna sighed, taking her fingers off her hair. She was bored. Link was bored. The cartoons on TV were boring. Not even the screams from her neighbour's kids were giving her energy.

"Midnaaaa" Link whined, "Can't we go eat ice cream? I'm bo _w_ ed".

Midna pouted for a second and shook her head.

"Pretty sure your aunt would kill me for giving you ice cream when you're sick"

" 'm not sick"

"You're sick"

"I'll give you 3 _w_ uppees if you admit I'm not sick"

"You don't have 3 rupees"

Link cursed under his breath and looked at the colouring book on his lap. All the figures were coloured with bright crayon colours (Link was proud to say his colouring was more inside the lines than Midna's), and he had forgotten his toys at his aunt's home. None of them wanted to go back there to grab the familiar pig-shaped bag, so there were they. On the kitchen's table, competing to see who could whine more.

Midna's ears perked up slightly when she heard the familiar  _ping_ from her phone's notification. She tapped it and opened Zelda's message.

 

_> you won't believe this_

_> louise actually peed on my pillow_

_> i dared her_

_> i faced the unknown_

_> and the consequences got me_

 

Midna snorted, letting Link see the message to cheer him up a little bit, and quickly answered.

 

I told you to not challenge cats<

link is the only person i know that can fully deal with cats<

which is kinda useless, since he's allergic to them<

 

"Hey!" Link tried to take the phone from Midna's hand to erase the message, but Midna laughed and kept her arm out of his reach, " 'm not allergic to cats! I'm allergic to  _frogs_!"

"That's what you  _say_ " Midna raised one of her eyebrows, "But it's not what your nose shows".

Link did his best to argue back, but failed horribly. Midna petted his hair in sympathy. Midna's phone  _pinged_ again and she opened the message, her mouth watering with the photo of a huge tray of cookies.

 

_> i made cookies. a whole pack of cookies_

_> you and link are welcome to come here and eat_

_> i have marshmallows_

keep your door open<

                                                                                        we are bashing in<

 

"Link" Midna narrowed her eyes, "We got food". Link nodded and quickly grabbed his coat.

 

 

Zelda almost choked trying to not laugh and eat the cookie at the same time. Link had gotten so excited with the cookies that he was dancing in the middle of the living room. With Louise in his arms. And she seemed to be  _enjoying_ it.

 "You know" Midna chewed on her cookie a bit more, "Sometimes, I wonder how I got myself in this"

Zelda shrugged, putting more marshmallows on her hot chocolate.

"Sometimes, you can't simply question it. You must  _live it_ , and close your windows".

"That was deep".

"I am deep".

_Oh wait_ , Zelda blinked and felt her cheeks getting red when Midna began giggling to herself.

"You are...deep?"

"Shut up"

They heard a faint  _thud_ and turned around to see Link face down on the floor, Louise sprawled on her back at his side.

"Midnaaa" Link whined, "I got dizzy".

"I told you to not to shake your brain so much"

Zelda giggled, putting her feet on her coffee table. The evening was cold, the sky was such a pretty colour outside all she wanted to do was get her camera and take the best photo she could. But she was also happy were she was. Sprawled on the couch, watching Link and Midna bickering at each other, and Louise trying to hide her love for her new friend. Wait.

She could mix both!

"Hey" She put her feet back on the floor and got up, "Why don't we go outside? A bit of snow fell yesterday, right?"

Link immediately got up and looked at her with hopeful eyes. 

"We can go 'tside? Play with the snow? We can, _w_ ight Midna?"

 Midna tutted and furrowed her eyebrows.

"I don't know... You already got out in the cold enough for now, don't you think?"

"Pleeeeeeeeease?"

Zelda smiled and took her camera out of her bookcase. Midna's eyebrows raised.

"The sky is nice today, don't you think?"

 

 

Midna looked at the sky. The colours were nice. She could already see some stars out, the moon gaving them a peaceful glow. It was so calm she almost forgot she was in the middle of a war.

She sighed and took the bits of snow off her hair the best she could and looked at Link, giggling behind the cardboxes he found on the other side of the street. His so called  _Hero Fortress_. Zelda was giving both of them amused glances, every now and then turning to the sky or the end of the street to take a picture.

"You're  _so going_ to pay for this. You know how much time it took me to gather courage to take a shower?!" Midna hissed, filling her fists with snow. Link shrieked and laughed at the same time, crouching behind his fortress with Louise. Damn Louise, jumping to intercept every snowball Midna threw. 

She quickly threw the snowball, doing her best to angle it away from Louise and straight to Link's face, but it was so  _damn hard_ , Louise followed Link wherever he went! How could she stop her snowballs from getting intercepted mid air?

Well... She could...

She turned her eyes to the ground. A malicious grin grew on her face.

 

Zelda's head snapped up when she heard a shriek and a loud meow. And almost dropped her camera when she bent down to hold her laugh.

Midna had, somehow, gathered a big, _gigantic_ , ball of snow,at least the size of her head, and was running behind Link and Louise, laughing like a devil witch who just found her prey. Zelda bit her lip to hold her laugh and got her camera ready, and got the snap at the right second after Midna dropped the snowball on Link, both of their hairs messy and covered in snow. Both of them with huge smiles on their faces.

Zelda blinked. The light... Was just right.  _Click_.

She lowered her camera and looked at the small screen on the back. There was a photo of Midna's face, her hair half covered in snow, the wind taking the strands forward, her eyes glinting and looking fondly at Link, with a huge grin on her lips. 

Zelda blushed.

_I'm in love with a smile_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry it took so long to update!!! all i had energy for was read and like these days lmao  
> but here it is!!! it's short and....kinda lame, but i kinda like the end  
> title from "alone" by alan walker btw :>
> 
> ps: i also know ZERO stuff about snow or how to deal with it, only the basics. so any mistake made here is...well  
> blame the internet


	6. dance without a song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could Midna consider it a first date? Could she ask Zelda when their marriage would happen?

Zelda bit her lip, anxiously flimbing with her bag's strap across her shoulder. The library was just in front of her, the biggest library of Castle Town, the one she used to go almost every day to do all her homework from university. It held a warm place in her heart, and now she had one more reason for it.

She took a deep breath, adjusted her hair so most of it was on her right shoulder and took quick steps to go up the stairs in front of the big doors, feeling her heart beating almost from the tip of her fingers, and she had no doubt her face was flushed. But she was doing this. She was visiting Midna in her workplace just like she had promised herself she'd do weeks ago. It seemed like such a far away memory now...

When she got inside, the familiar scent of old papers, cleaning products and plastic filled her nostrils. The library hadn't changed a single bit. There were the gigantic shelves holding the oldest books known by every race in Hyrule, the walls were the same creamy white of ever, and there was still a red banner hanging near the door to the Kids Section with the Hylian crest painted in a golden colour on it. The few noticeable changes were the addition of colourful beanbags, pillows and low tables spread around. Oh, and they had Wi-Fi. Great.

Her eyes scanned around, searching for the familiar bright orange hair, but found nothing. Midna could be in the second level, who knows? To how far Zelda's knowledge went, part of Midna's job was putting the books back on their respective shelves, so it probably made her walk around the whole day. Zelda would just have to look.

She took a walk around the shelves. She saw tired-looking students, old grannies with piles and piles of books on the table near them, kids sitting on a table and having a serious discussion about who was faster: the Sheikah or the Zora, and a tall guy with a huge mug of coffee on a hand and a pair of glasses on the other. He was sitting on the staff's table, taking a look at whatever the monitor near him was showing, but his eyes were so squinted he probably forgot he had glasses. Zelda cleared her throat loudly to get his attention.

The man,  _Shad_  the badge on his shirt said, startled and blinked at her with big surprised eyes. He adjusted his position on the chair and put the glasses back on his face.

"Oh, erm" He cleared his throat, "May I help you with anything, miss?"

Zelda gave him a small smile, trying to make him relax.

"Hi, hmm, I'm searching for my friend? Midna? She said she'd be here today".

"Oh!" He glanced at the monitor again "She's on the third level, organizing the books on the shelves in the back. You can take the elevator there, if you wish".

Zelda widened her smile, said a cheerful "thanks!" and quickly went to the elevator, tapping the  _3rd Level_ button with a bit too much force. But she didn't care, she was excited. And nervous, but mostly excited.

 The elevator  _dinged_ loudly when it opened the doors. Zelda stepped on the wooden floor, searching around again for the orange hair. Her legs took her to the back, where the air was dusty and the scent of leather and old paper was heavy. It was calming, in a way.

She heard grumbles, sounding weirdly like curses but in a language she didn't know, and she followed the sound. She stopped in front of a shelf labeled with  _"Books about: PHILOSOPHY, THE SOCIETY AND THE BEING, LOGIC OF THE MIND"_ and her eyes immediately went to the orange hair tied in a high ponytail. Midna was kneeling in front of one of the lowest shelves, hastily shoving her hands in a transparent plastic box, her brows furrowing at each book as she looked around searching for it's place. For some reason, the image amused Zelda.

"Need any help?" She asked, and tried to hold her laugh when Midna, startled by her voice, almost fell on her butt. The Twili sent her a wide eyed look, putting the books in her hands back on the box.

"You...You came!" She grinned, standing up and cleaning the dust from her jeans, without taking her eyes off Zelda, "I thought it would take longer but... Oh, what am I saying. Ah, no I don't need help! Ruto just labeled these books all wrong, so I'm just gonna make her do it all over again".

Zelda smiled, taking a look at the books inside. 

"You're the mean type, huh? Have mercy on your coworker" Her fingers shyly touched one of the books' spine.

"I  _am_ mean, I'm here to command a book army, not make friends. So, not busy today?"

"Nope" Zelda smiled, looking at the dust on her fingertips, "Totally free. You are going to leave in half an hour, aren't you?"

Midna frowned, looking at the watch on her wrist. Her face suddenly opened a smile. 

"Actually, my turn ended fourteen minutes ago. My, am I an example of hard-working".

Zelda raised one of her eyebrows, smiling.

"You and Link fell asleep on the couch"

"Yeah, so?"

"Because you both were too lazy to get the TV control and change the chess competition channel to the movies channel"

Midna shrugged, picking the box up.

"The kid is a bad influence, you can't blame me". 

Zelda huffed and followed her.

 

 

"You know", Midna licked her candy cotton popsicle, "I only noticed now. I never gave back your jacket"

"You are wearing it now"

"Well..." Midna looked at the sprinkles spread on her finger, "I can wash it and give it back? If you want".

Zelda smiled and Midna's eyes were attracted to the colourful sprinkles spread around her mouth.  _She have nice lips...._

"Actually" Zelda threw the popsicle stick on a near trash can, "Keep it. You look cute on it".

Midna felt her cheeks get warm and she knew the popsicle was melting on her hand.  _No_ , she tried to tell herself,  _I am not blushing_.

Zelda giggled, holding her wrist to try to show her the melted popsicle.

 _I am not blushing because she called me cute with sprinkles spread around her mouth_.

She totally wasn't. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh, you guys have to try candy cotton popsicle. It's wonderful.  
> and... yeah, the chapter is pretty short. my brain is kinda burning, but i wanted to update the fic anyway. there's probably two or three chapters remaining!!


	7. rainbow nail polisher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lazy day lazy kisses

"Why are you painting it pink" Midna moaned, not taking her eyes off the TV, "I said orange, not  _pink_ ".

"Hmm...."Zelda tilted her head, looking around in pretended confusion, "Link, did you hear something? All I heard was a  _big baby without fashion sense_ "

Link nodded enthusiastically, trying to chew his cookie, paint Midna's nails and say "Big baby!" at the same time. " _Buff Bubee!"_ , well you can't say the kid is bad at multitasking.

Zelda chuckled and put the small pink tube away, taking a look at her work. She had managed to paint all the nails in the right foot with the bright pink nail polisher without making a single mess. Link had all the colours they used on Midna's hands also on his hair and nose. And his own nails were rainbow coloured. Zelda couldn't help, but find it adorable. 

The door bell rang and Link ran to it before Zelda could even begin to get up. But he was giving excited screeches so Zelda could guess who it was.

_"Pig man!"_

She heard Mr. Ganon sigh from the corridor. Zelda managed, with success after so many times happening the same thing, to hide her laughter at Link's nickname. Neither she nor Midna or even Mr. Ganon knew why Link called him  _Pig Man_. Midna and her just went along with it, Mr. Ganon just tried to apply logic to a 5-year-old's mind, with no success. He gave up weeks ago.

"Zelda," Mr. Ganon greeted, extending a tupperware with a blue lid, "My mothers brought some of that chicken pie again. I'm not much of a fan. Want some?"

_"Pie!"_

"Oh!" Zelda smiled. The famous chicken pie from the Dragmires. One of her favourites. She couldn't understand why Mr. Ganon disliked it so much, but she could eat it any day. It even went well with coffee! "I'd love to, thank you. I'll just put it in a plate and give the tupperware back".

"Nah, don't bother" Mr. Ganon shrugged, moving from a feet to the other, trying to distract Link from pulling his long, red braid. "Take your time, my mothers will be happy in knowing someone liked it".

Zelda thanked him again and called Link back, taking the pie to the kitchen. Link bounced around to the living room, pulling Midna's arm until she gave up on watching TV. Zelda made question of giving him a big slice of pie. Midna yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Zelda's eyes locked in the small slice of skin that appeared when her shirt went up.  _Nice._ She felt her cheeks get warm and quickly went back to dividing the pie slices.

Midna pocked her slice with a fork, relutanctly putting it in her mouth. She chewed for a few minutes, frowning. Zelda looked at Link's plate. The pie was gone and he was looking at her with big eyes. 

" _More pwease?_ " He asked in a small voice. Midna gave a light kick to his stool. 

Zelda smiled and put another big slice on his plate, happily chewing her own. The warm late sun coming from her kitchen's window broke the cold that was stuck in her apartment, making her feel like one of her rare lazy days, where all she did was  _nothing_ and she was happy with that. Midna had come from the library straight to Zelda's apartment, lending some of Zelda's old clothes (they were a bit small on her, but Zelda didn't say anything. She was enjoying it too much), and Link just happened to have become one of Zelda's favourite kids, which made herself bring him to her apartment. They were all together and she was happy with that.

 

Midna didn't exactly liked the pie. In her mind, pies were sweet, tasting like some fruit and a ton of sugar. Not like dinner on Saturdays at her mother's house when the food was already cold.

Zelda snorted at her frown, serving herself one more slice. "You can stop eating it, you know? It's not like you're getting paid for that".

Midna huffed, shoving one more piece of  _IDon'tLikeThis_ in her mouth, "My face is frowning, not me".

"You  _are_ your face"

"I'm eating, don't make me question my existence".

Zelda rolled her eyes, took Midna's plate back and divided the slice for her and Link. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Link began to fall asleep on his food,  _again_ , so Midna tapped his shoulder lightly. 

"Maybe I should bring him back home. Will get late soon"

_But I really don't wanna go, and I bet Link wants to stay here and play with Louise,_ Midna thought to herself, chewing her lip. Zelda made an excited sound, making Midna raise her eyebrow.

"You can sleep here! There's an extra mattress on the closet and the couch and my bed! You don't have to go!"

Midna blinked, trying to keep her smile away. "You... Are you sure? I mean, we can walk no problem".

"Oh, no. Stay! I'll get the mattress, hold on". 

Midna looked at Zelda's back going away, feeling her guts get warm.  _What is the name of this again?_

 

Since Link took as much space as a sand seal took, Zelda and Midna decided to leave him in Zelda's bed, hugging a plushie rabbit Zelda gave him. 

Zelda took a blanket and a pillow to her couch, stepping around the mattress Midna was on. The TV was tuned on an old horror movie, full of false blood and weird screams. Zelda loved those. She hugged her knees to her chest and put the blanket around her shoulders, kinda sad they didn't had popcorn. Midna turned to her and frowned.

"There's plenty of space here," She patted the, indeed, large space besides her, "Bring your blanket here, let's make it a sleepover party".

"Don't people usually watch romance movies in those parties?"

"We are rebels, remember?"

"Oh yeah, true. Move over"

They laid down side by side, their heads in their hands. Zelda wasn't exactly paying attention to the exagerated gore on the screen, but more on the warmth on her side. Her spine was tangling with happiness, her heart was beating slightly faster. If she could just get  _a little bit closer_ _\--_

 

She woke up feeling a weight on her chest. 

She looked around, slightly confused but her brain quickly brought her back to yesterday.  _Ah_. She could hear soft snores around her, could see the Sun rays coming through the window, could feel a certain warmth despite the cold weather outside. She looked down, to the certain weight.  _Oh_.

_I like this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll give you $5 to make university go away from me  
> and yeeeeee this is short, sorry  
> the next chapter will take longer to post but it will be LONGER hehe


	8. cross the bridge, find my heart piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Attention, everyone!" Zelda remembered Midna yelling at the party, "I have a girlfriend and I'd kill for her!"  
> Zelda, weirdly enough, felt this was the most romantic sentence someone would ever say to her.  
> And she loved it.

Sheik was giving Midna a weird look, that _how in heavens did you do this?_ look that was so common on the gymnast's face whenever Midna so much as opened her mouth.

" _How..."_ Sheik took a deep breath, putting their cup full of orange juice on the blanket, " _Did you find someone as crazy as you?"_

"Well," Zelda answered, putting more tomatoes on her sandwhich, "I consider myself a very tolerant person; the other day Midna tried to wiggle a feather on my nose and I sneezed on her face"

"You're gross" Midna mumbled, putting her leg around Zelda's thigh.

"Ok," Sheik nodded, taking the nacho Ruto offered, "I fully comprehend this relationship with just this sentence, thank you very much".

Link, who was laying down on the grass behind Zelda's back, using sunglasses (Zelda's sunglasses, too big for his face), giggled and took a bite of his watermelon slice, "Midnash grosh"

Zelda chuckled, looking at Midna, who gave her the tongue.

"Yeah, so gross" Zelda leaned her head on Midna's shoulder, "We are both so gross".

Midna smiled, accepting the kiss on her forehead. Under the dreamy sensation of the gentle kiss, she heard Sheik snort and Link shriek in happiness.

 

"You know," Midna mused, swinging their hands back and forth, "We should get those ugly couple bikes".

"What," Zelda tilted her head, her messy bun losing even more strands of hair, "those that look like a centipede had a bad fashion day?" She took a bite of her popsicle.

"Gods, yeah" Midna gave Zelda a serious look, completely lost behing the big, purple sunglasses on her face, "We could call ourselves Honey and Darling"

Zelda snorted.

"Yeah, that might be the grossest thing I've ever said in my 32 years in this planet"

"You aren't 32 years old"

"Not outside my weak body of flesh"

Zelda threw her head back and gave a full laugh, those that make you feel actually proud of your joke, despite of how your girlfriend says it was bad. Those that you remember for days, weeks, months, _forever_. Midna took a deep breath.

"You're a dork"

"Shut up, I'm trying to kiss you"

Zelda smiled, Midna chuckled. They kissed. Zelda dropped her popsicle.

They were so grossly in love, Midna couldn't wait to yell that to the world while Zelda laughed and tried to do the same beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ending chapter!!! was supposed to be longer but when did i write a long chapter in my life  
> thank you so much for all the love for this fic!!! hope i can do something like this soon again <333

**Author's Note:**

> and i didn't even check for grammar mistakes. oh well.  
> this is from an au i posted on tumblr in....December/2015 i think??? probably  
> i went back to it again, changed some small things, and here it is!!!  
> 


End file.
